On the far side of the field, both bosses tested the line at once.
The Stoneback Brute waded in swinging like a wrecking arm, its spine plated in fused rock. Every time it overcommitted, the Ironroot Goliath shouldered across to cover, low to the ground and mean, trying to pry the formation open with its weight. When the Brute missed, the Goliath rammed. When the Goliath stalled, the Brute's slab fists came down to punish anyone who had stepped too close. It was not elegant, but it made sense, and it hurt.
Do-ha took the first real hit. The Brute's backhand crushed into his shield and drove him three boot lengths through the dirt. He grunted, reset his stance, and set the rim again just off center. Yong-hun lunged to fill the gap, spear darting for soft places whenever rock and hide parted for a breath.
Hye-jin met the Brute like a fighter meets a heavy bag. Hands up, chin tucked, feet alive. The first hammer fell like a door; she slid outside and hammered the elbow hinge three times fast. The ridge saved the joint; it did not save the nerves. Fire took her knuckles and the next swing came slower.
When the Goliath tried to crash through to help, she pivoted and put heat into its planted foreleg until the knee buckled and it had to choose between standing and charging. It chose standing. That was her first win.
Sera moved where she had been told, but in stutters. She saw an opening but hesitated a heartbeat too long, hence missing the chance to. On top of that, a goblin escorting the bosses clipped her hip, not deep but humiliating, and she gasped, cheeks hot.
Mira's voice reached her without scolding. "It's okay dear, you'll get it next time." Sera nodded, breath quick, and turned her focus on.
She shaved quiet lines along the back of the Goliath's ankle and skipped two steps out before fear could drag her too far.
Min-seo's traps did quiet work. She'd set them where the Brute kept planting its heel. It stepped there once, twice, a third time—each step popped another trap. Poison climbed that leg like ivy and did its arithmetic.
Yoo Mi-kyung's cute and fluffy familiar, which was not so cute anymore, hit the ground as something like a cat the size of a motorcycle, shoulders rolling like water. She whispered buffs into its fur with small, precise gestures, and the big cat's coat shimmered as if someone had polished the air.
It took the Goliath's shoulder charge head-on, dug in, and turned the beast a fraction so Do-ha would not be trampled. When the cat faltered, she breathed another thread of power into it and the paws bit again.
Baek Garin kept people alive with stubborn, steady light. "You're fine, you're so fine, keep it tight," she said, voice oddly soothing, and pushed a low, constant heal through the front like warm water under ice.
The hiders who had come to help did not touch the bosses, or more likely did not want to do so. But did the work they were given.
They kept the ring around them from collapsing. When Boneclaws skittered in from the edges, the hiders threw stones, clapped, and then ran a crooked line to pull the knives away. It cost them a few cuts and some panicked breaths, but it kept the circle clean enough for the fighters to work.
Mira's illusions made the Brute lose seconds it could not afford. She planted one double in the pocket the Goliath kept ramming and let the beast hit smoke. The outline burst in soft white and blinded everything facing it.
An ax-goblin swung through where she had been; [Mirage Poise] rode her step and the blade whistled through a ghost of her coat. She reappeared half a stride off, weight already set, and shoved a knife into its face.
"The big fucker is turning," Hye-jin said, not quite smiling, eyes bright with heat. She stepped into the Brute's hip ridge and drove both fists like pistons. Something inside shifted. The Brute grunted like an old gate and lost a foot of ground.
Sera saw the tendon she had been too afraid to take before and did not miss it this time. The cut landed, and she got out.
'I finally did it perfectly, ' she thought happily.
Garin's light caught the shallow scratch she had taken before on the way and erased it to a sting.
Mi-kyung's cat-creature also did its job. When the Goliath tried to pivot for a ram that would crush its master, the cat leaped to the shoulder and sank its claws deep, a low growl rising into a sound that felt like a drum underfoot.
"Buff, buff, you got this Seo," Mi-kyung shouted, and the cat's muscles answered.
Min-seo vanished, put another trap where the Brute liked to plant when it tired, and was out before her invisibility ran out.
The boss stepped on it. Green smoke wrapped around the ankle and crept up the calf.
The fight was going well, but they were not clean. The Goliath clipped Do-ha's shoulder once and spun him. Yong-hun took a raking blow on the forearm and went numb for a second. Garin's heal ticked and his fingers came back.
The Brute's backhand swept air where Hye-jin's head had been; she ducked by an inch, heat roaring in her lungs, and answered with a straight punch that put fire and bone into the joint.
They traded minutes for ground. They traded bruises for angles. The bosses began to slow in the way heavy things do when every small thing goes against them.
…Time moved like work.
The Brute's knee finally betrayed it. It tried to step and the leg did not answer. Hye-jin crashed in with a short, mean shoulder and the whole mass went down to one side. Do-ha pinned it where it fell, shield edge wedged into a seam. Yong-hun ended the argument with three quick thrusts where the head was least armored. The Brute made that old-gate sound again and did not get up.
Opposite, the Goliath tried one last straight-line ram and met a field that had learned it. The big cat took the first impact and slid.
"On my way!" Do-ha was already moving, shield set into the second.
Mira's doubles flashed and burst, buying the half-second Sera needed to carve the back of the knee. Min-seo's poison had already climbed too high. The Goliath toppled, rolled once, and settled with a quiver that became stillness.
For a breath, no one spoke. Then the noise came back in small, disbelieving pieces.
"We did it!"
"Hahaha fuck yeah!"
Do-ha let out air he did not know he had held and thumped his shield once at his knee. Yong-hun leaned on the spear and grinned at nothing, bruised and pleased.
Sera stood with her blade low and her shoulders shaking, half laughter and half leftover fear, and when Garin bumped her with a hip and said, "You did great, babe, like actually great," Sera laughed for real.
Mi-kyung crouched to hug her familiar and whispered gratitude into its fur until the big cat's shoulders stopped quivering. Hye-jin rolled her wrists, looked at her scraped knuckles, and nodded to herself like a craftsman checking a joint that held.
Around them, the hiders who had helped with the small monsters let out shaky cheers and a few ragged whoops.
However, their work was not done yet. They still needed to take care of the scattered monsters.
"Everyone, move back to he crystal, get healed by the healers. When you are done, go and take care of the monsters in the forests."
Under Mira's command, they went in groups and took care of what was left.
Panels blinked in the air.
[First Wave — Cleared]
[Awarding the Loot, TLE, and NTLE]
[Next Wave — Begins in 10:00]
The dome hummed on. The trees stood back from the circle as if respecting it.
For a little while, the only sounds were breath, small laughter, and the soft, relieved clatter of weapons being checked and wiped clean.
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Ryu Hye-jin
[Alias: Knuckle Sandwich]
[Class: Radiant Phoenix Fighter (Unique Legendary-tier)]
[Level: 5]
— Core Attributes —
[Strength: 14 (+4 class)]
[Constitution: 14 (+2 class)]
[Agility: 14]
[Intelligence: 14]
— Special Stats —
[Heat: 0/100] (Builds when dealing or taking damage; decays rapidly out of combat.)
[Heat Thresholds]
• At 40 Heat: +10% Attack Speed, +10% Move Speed
• At 80 Heat: +20% Attack Speed, +15% Move Speed, +10% Damage
• Overheat (100 Heat): drain 2% Max HP per second and gain an additional +15% Damage until Heat falls below 80.
[Burn: +1] (Burn deals 3% of Attack Power as Fire damage per second.)
— Class Passives —
• [Ember Feed] Heal for 12% of damage dealt. Heals are capped at 10% of Max HP per second. Versus bosses heal for 6% with a 5% Max HP per second cap.
• [Iron Nerves] While above 40 Heat, reduce the duration of crowd control effects you suffer by 30%.
• Acquire the Burn stat. (+1)
— Skills —
[Ignition — Uncommon, Active]
Wrap fists in flame. Basic attacks deal +15% Fire damage and apply a 4 s. Costs 3 Heat on cast and 1 Heat per second while active. Burn stacks up to 3.
[Flame Crash — Uncommon, Active]
Gap-closing dash punch that deals 140% Attack Power as Fire damage and knocks down lesser enemies for 0.6 s. Generates 15 Heat. Cooldown: 10 s. Burn stacks up to 3.
[Scorching Guard — Uncommon, Active]
Gain a shield equal to 14% of Max HP for 6 s. On cast, taunt nearby lesser enemies for 1.5 s. Converts up to 20 Heat into an additional 4% shield if available. Cooldown: 25 s.
[Combustion — Uncommon, Active]
Consume up to 60 Heat to emit a 6 m fire nova. Deals 180% Attack Power as Fire damage over 4 s and applies Burn. Heal for 0.15% Max HP per Heat consumed per second for 4 s. Cooldown: 30 s. Burn stacks up to 3.
[Phoenix Rebound — Rare, Passive]
If a lethal blow would land and you have ≥40 Heat and the skill is off cooldown.
Effect: Consume all Heat → set HP to 15%, emit a 5 m Fire nova for 200% Attack Power (applies Burn; stacks with your burns), then gain 40% Damage Reduction for 2 s. Cleanses Fear and Slow on trigger.
Cooldown: 300 s.